Oh, stars, what have I done?
As the shadow soared over to the next orc and the next, the tugging continued. With each drawing of blood, my vision dimmed, my body weakened. After the shadow’s fourth kill, an orc twice the size of Caelo and equally skilled in swordsmanship, I toppled over and, try as I might to push myself up against the blood-sodden snow, I could not get back up.
“Neve!” Vale was beside me, pulling at the surrounding webbing. When had he gotten there? “What’s going on?”
I tried to answer, but no words came, only the dimming of my sight until the world went black.
Chapter 17
NEVE
Afire crackled and sage and rosemary drifted by my nostrils as my eyelids fluttered open. Above me hung bushels of dried herbs and flowers and twigs. One bushel of dried cranberries, the skin wrinkled and slightly brown, stood out the most. I lay upon a thin mattress.
The last thing I remembered was the orc fight in the woods and the shadow being that had helped.
My heart raced as another question presented itself.Did the shadow bring me here?
My head spun as I shot into a sitting position.
“Neve! Stay still!” Vale’s voice grounded me. At least he was here. We were together.
A moment later, he stood at my side, the scent of him reassuring, as his protective hand splayed across my back. “Breathe, love. You’ve been passed out for two days.”
Days?!
I glanced up at my husband, only to recoil. Stars, helooked bad. A black eye and claw marks, both on the right side of his face besides the injuries I’d seen him sustain to his chest and arm. My gaze dropped.
“I’m fine,” he assured me and waved a hand to his face. “These are superficial, and my other injuries have been tended to and bound. They hurt but were nowhere near as bad as yours. Or Caelo’s.”
“What happened to him?” I’d lost track of the knight in the fight. “Where’s Anna?”
“She and Caelo are both sleeping deeply.” Vale stepped aside so I could view the pair. Caelo laid in a real bed, while Anna sat upright in a chair, a thick, red blanket pulled over her. “Caelo lost a lot of blood from a side wound—a serious one. Anna didn’t sustain a single injury.”
“Where are we?” I asked, quieter now that I know we were all alive and two of my friends were sleeping. “You said I was passed out fordays?”
Vale cleared his throat. “The fight ended, and you went unconscious. Caelo too. With Anna’s help, I got him on his horse and tied him down. You rode across my lap.”
Now that he mentioned it, my middle ached. It had to have been awkward riding that way, I was sure I’d have bruises.
“We’re in Vitvik. Anna and I found a healer on the outskirts of the city.”
I looked around again. This place looked like a cottage. The front had been converted for work, so perhaps the back was a living space? “Is the healer here?”
“She is. Now that you’re awake, I need to alert her.”My chest tightened. I wanted to ask a hundred more questions,but Vale kissed the top of my head and went to get the healer.
When they emerged from the back, I studied the red-haired female, head tilting to the side. Now that I’d been in Winter’s Realm for two moons, I’d seen many more types of fae, but she was unusual.
“How’s your leg?” the healer asked when she got closer.
“Fine.”
“Let’s see it then.” She pulled back the blanket, allowing me my first good glimpse of where I lay. The table had a small feather mat atop, probably a place where she made concoctions and potions, as this didn’t seem to be a healing outfit large enough for multiple people to stay in long term. Someone changed me out of my pants and into a flowing nightgown.
“I’m Rynni Vamyre.” She did not dally in lifting my gown up to expose my wound. “You came in with a deep gash. I disinfected the site, sewed you up, and bandaged it. I’m going to undo the bandage now to check on it.” Really, she was already doing so. “My main concern is infection.”
“Of course.”
As she worked, I studied the healer. Rynni had black scales on the sides of her face. Not the whole side, just behind her ears. If she wore her hair down, no one would see them, but today her long red hair was tied back.
